Jack London spent a very large part of his young life in the northern Arctic and returned to America a changed man. He believed that society and its modern conveniences had made everyone unappreciative of the power of nature and weak in general because they relied too heavily on science and technology. He believed that people needed to rediscover their natural animal instincts if they wanted to stay strong and at the top of the food chain in the modern world. London repeatedly read Darwin's "On the Origin of Species" and Herbert Spencer's Darwin-influenced "First Principles" and used them as a source to help him write his own stories. In an article about London's life titled "Jack London and Evolution: From Spencer to Huxley" by Lawrence I. Berkove, he writes: "A copy of Origin to Species was one of the few books London had with him at the Yukon. » Darwin had a major influence on London as Darwin is repeatedly mentioned favorably in London's letters. The influence of evolution and Darwinism on London, along with his personal life experiences, are what make his stories so real. He understands the parameters of "Build a Fire" and "Law of Life" enough to be precise when using images to describe them and know what those parameters mean to a single human in them. Most of London's stories take place in the Yukon, where he spent his time, which is also what makes his stories so true. Another aspect of realism used by London is the lack of romanticism in the character's fate. London doesn't seem to care about pleasing the reader and letting his characters live. He doesn't force Koskoosh in "Law of Life" to fight wolves to try to survive, nor does he make the man in "To Build a Fire" succeed in starting a fire, because in the real world, in these places, these things wouldn't do it. It doesn't really happen. London sticks to the truth about the fate of the characters in this setting, which gives these stories the character